Cracking the Model Code: Insider Tips to Becoming a Model

Tip 1. Let Other People Try…and Fail…to Become Supermodels
Supermodels are a rare breed. Aspiring to be a supermodel is like aspiring to the very top crust of any walk of life you might imagine – like aspiring to be one of the world’s top 5 billionaires instead of one of these other 10,000+ multimillionaires.

If you aim for the top 5, you’re setting yourself up for failure. But if you aim for the top 1,000, chances are very good that you will succeed.

This is your personal decision. We hate to dissuade anyone of reaching the very pinnacle. But it does help to be realistic.

Tip 2:  Beat “Runway Blindness”
This second rule depends on the “supply-demand” formula. In the so-called First Tier modeling markets (New York, Milan, and Paris), there is incredible demand for models. Everything is there – catalogs, TV commercial producers, newspapers. And of course, runway and editorial modeling is hot in the First Tier markets.

But many aspiring models have “Runway Blindness.”

As you might guess, models on the runway are blinded with all of the flashbulbs and TV lights in their faces.  So we use the same term, Runway Blindness, to refer to aspiring models who are so “blind” that they cannot see the hot, easy-to-enter markets right under their noses…because they are spending too much time looking at the cover of Vogue and thinking that they have to be there and nowhere else.

With Runway Blindness, many models quite ironically cannot see the modeling opportunities available in their very own home towns or localities. Runway Blindness means that a woman or man living in a market like Chicago or L.A. thinks that they have to move to New York to success. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Harness the power of the modeling opportunities right under your nose. Either stay in those 2nd and 3rd tier markets, or use them to build your portfolio and work your way up to higher tier markets.

First Tier
New York, Milan, Paris.

Second Tier
Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, etc.

Third Tier
Atlanta, Boston, Toronto, Dallas, Nashville.

Tip 3:  Specialize: the Niche Market is Your Friend
There is another side to Runway Blindness: aspiring models who think that the only thing they can do is clothes modeling for Dior.

Many models can specialize in niches like:

Hand modeling; shoes; jewelry; big and beautiful; petites; children; swimwear; outdoor; athletic; etc. The list is endless.

Bonus Tip: Forge Your Own Path
Any place where other aspiring models congregate will usually do you little good.

It can be compared to a lottery. If you have 100,000 people buying lottery tickets for the chance to win a Bermuda vacation, then your chances are limited.

Same with modeling. Modeling conventions, trade shows, and contests all have stiff competition. When you go to a big modeling convention, the big people who really matter – the decision makers like agents and bookers – will almost certainly not see you in the huge ocean of hundreds or thousands of other aspiring models. Even if they do see you, their attention will be limited.

The true way to attract the attention of the people that matter is to contact them directly through modeling agencies.

It is a little-known fact that shots and information sent into modeling agencies unsolicited (i.e., without being asked for) are evaluated and do sometimes result in modeling contracts.